Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations, which is officially known as CAN (Coupe d'Afrique des Nations) and also referred to as African Cup of Nations or AFCON, is the main international competition in Africa and is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The origin of the competition dates from June 1956, when the creation of the CAF was proposed during the third FIFA congress in Lisbon.

There were immediate plans for a continental tournament to be held and, in February 1957, the first African Cup of Nations was held in Khartoum in Sudan.

There was no qualification for this tournament, the field being made up of the four founding nations of CAF - Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

South Africa's insistence on selecting only white players for their squad due to its apartheid policy led to their disqualification, and as a consequence Ethiopia were handed a bye straight to the final so only two matches were played.

The competition's format has changed several times with the number of teams increasing to 16 in 1996. The increased participation led to the introduction of qualifying rounds in 1968, which was the same year that it was decided to hold the tournament biennially.
The African Cup of Nations was first held in February 1957 in Khartoum in Sudan, where Egypt defeated the host nation in the final to win the Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, named after its donor, the Egyptian first CAF president.

That trophy was permanently awarded to Ghana in 1978 when they became the first country to win the tournament three times.

The next trophy, known as the African Unity Cup, was awarded permanently to Cameroon in 2000 when that team claimed its third championship since 1978.

In 2002, a new trophy called the Cup of Nations was introduced.

Under the leadership of Ethiopian Ydnekachew Tessema, the CAF president from 1972 until his death in 1987, the cup earned greater international recognition.
Professionalism was allowed in 1980 and corporate sponsorships accepted in 1984.
The winner of the Africa Cup of Nations represents the continent at the FIFA Confederations Cup.